Reports, proud muckraking, photos, videos and musings from the veteran LGBT and AIDS human rights advocate Michael Petrelis. Based in San Francisco since 1995.
Contact: MPetrelis_at_AOL_dot_com.
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Saturday, July 12, 2014

Arab TV's Goofy Visit to San Francisco's Castro Street

The LGBT Iranian who brought this video to our attention wishes to remain anonymous for their personal safety and we're grateful that they've shined a light on this report.

A correspondent for Aram TV, which is based in Saudi Arabia, filed a nearly half-hour report about sexual tolerance and looked at the global influence of Playboy magazine, the downfall of Pompeii because of debauchery and he paid a visit to District 8's Castro Street.

It's no surprise that he was gawking and passing judgment on the gay men he saw, and we admit to laughing at his obnoxiousness, but over all we are glad he visited San Francisco and show his viewers proud LGBT people.

We're of the belief that when conservatives news outlets, be they domestic or foreign but especially from the Middle East and with a religious bent, broadcast such images of happy homosexuals being affectionate under the LGBT rainbow pride flag in San Francisco, there are out and closeted gay people watching across the Arab world.

That segment of the viewing public receives a hopeful message and may even inspire LGBT people to take pride in themselves and perhaps engage in their own forms of safe activism.

Thanks, Aram TV, for this report beamed into millions of homes and cafes in the Middle East and around the world wide web.

Click here to view the YouTube video with full closed-captioning. Here is a truncated transcript:

14:52

Part of the sexual revolution in the 1960's was the emergence of gay tolerance

15:05

In America up until the '50s homosexuality was considered taboo

15:10

And it was unacceptable to be openly gay
Religiously and socially

15:20

This city is known as the capital of the gays
The gay movement started from San Francisco

15:26

It has the highest proportion of gay people

15:30

This flag, the rainbow flag, represents this movement

15:46

[Man]

15:52

Look at them sitting on each other at that bus stop

16:01

They're kissing

16:12

Nobody can stop this movement
It has become a social norm

16:21

Is that a man or woman?
Someone help me out. It was a guy?

16:25

Look at where we are, there's no turning back

16:29

Part of this retrogression we met a couple and asked them

17:19

The Bible is clear about homosexuality
"Do not lie with a man as with a woman"

17:27

"A man who sleeps with another man has sinned"

17:34

In the Bible and Torah, their holy books, it is clearly stated

17:39

But when people start getting accustomed to it they start to change their interpretations